Shuttle replenishing loom



June 14, 1932. w STONE ET AL 1,862,987

' SHUTTLE REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Nov 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 'v I I ATTORNEY une 14, 1932- E. w. STONE ET AL 1,862,987

SHUTTLE REPLENISHING LOOM' Filed Nov 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY 9 M 7/ 49mm ATTORN June 14, 1932. E. w. STONE ET AL.

SHUTTLE REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Nov l5, 195C 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Z PINVENTOR @y 4%. 4.; BY r M Tw ATTORNEY Patented June 14, 1932 mireo STATES PATENT: OFFICE EDVTIN W. STGNE, 0F LONGMEADOW, AND FRANK V. GBENNOB, OF CHICOPEE, MAS- SACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO BIGELOW-SANFORD CARPET (30., INC., 0]? THOMPSON- Q," VILLE, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS SHUTTLE REPLENISHING L001:

Application filed November 15, 1930. Serial No. 495,924.

This invention relates to weft replenishing looms of the type in which mechanism is provided for automatically removing an empty shuttle from a shuttle-box and substituting a full shuttle when substantiated exhaustion of filling is detected.

In some of the shuttle replenishing looms.

. shuttle, with a full shuttle, and start the loom again, is more or less complicated, the present invention is directed to improvements in the construction and operation of mechanism for effecting these operations.

Shuttle transfer mechanism employed in looms of the type in which weaving is suspended during the shuttle transfer has been commonly actuated heretofore from a changeshaft to which. the operating cams are rigidly secured, the arrangement being such that this shaft is rotated only when replenishment is called.

One important feature of the'present invention therefore relates to improved mech anism for periodically operating the cams that effect shuttle transfer, and resides in a group of cams forming a unit assembly that is journalcd upon or adjacent to a continuously rotating shaft, and in means for rotating these cams from the shaft only when shuttle replenishment is called.

Another feature of the present invention resides in novel mechanism controlled by the filling in the shuttle and adapted to effect shuttle replenishment when substantial exhaustion of filling is detected.

Other features of the invention and novel combination of parts in addition to the above will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate one good practical form of the invention.

In the drawings Fig. l is a side elevation with parts broken 7,

away of a loom provided with the shuttle replenishing mechanism of the present inven tion.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the shuttle replenishing side of the loom of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View through the shuttle magazine and shuttle replenishing box of the loom of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the group of cams for effecting shuttle transfer andthe operating mechanism for these cams.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the left hand or shuttle replenishing box of the lay and the shuttle magazine. A

Fig. 6 is a side view with parts in section of mechanism controlled by the filling feeler for initiating shuttle replenishment.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the cam operating mechanism of Fig. 4; and Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the right hand shuttle box and associated filling feeler.

The shuttle transfer mechanism of the present invention may be employed. upon looms of various types and sizes where replenishment of filling is to be effected by substituting a full shuttle for an empty one, but the mechanism illustrated in the drawings is designed more particularly for use upon broad looms such as areemployed in Weaving comparatively wide carpets or rugs.

The replenishing mechanism of the present invention may readily be applied to looms of well known construction and it has therefore been deemed necessary to show in the drawings only so much of the general plate 2 over which the woven fabric passes to the spike or take-up roll 3. At the rear of the breast plate is supported the lay 4 which for the most part may be of usual or Well known construction, and the lay is supported by the swords 5 extending upwardly from the rock shaft 6.

In the construction shown the loom is driven by an electric motor 7 disposed at the left hand side of the loom and supported by the bracket or base plate 8 in position to cause the pinion 9 which is secured to the motor shaft to mesh with and drive the large or clutch gear 10 which is journalled upon the shaft 11. The gear 10 has secured to one face thereof the brake drum 12 and is pro vided at its opposite face with the housing 13. lVithin this housing may be mounted clutch mechanlsm of any suitable or well known construction (not shown) adapted to drive the shaft 11 when the loom is to be operated and to permit the gear 10 to rotate freely upon this shaft when the loom is stopped and the motor continues to run. The means shown for operating such clutch mechanism comprises the lever 14 adapted to rock the horizontally extending shaft 15, which shaft is provided with the downwardly extending curved levers 16, the lower ends of which are provided with pins that lie in an annular groove formed in a sleeve 17 slidably mounted on the shaft 11, the arrangement being such that when the shaft 15 is rocked it will shift the sleeve 17 to actuate the clutch mechanism within the housing 13 in a well known manner. The horizontally extending shaft 15 is shown as having a downwardly extending finger 18 adapted to rock the pivoted lever 19 to thereby actuate the brake band 20 which engages the brake drum 12.

Rocking movement is imparted to the lay in a well known manner from the crank shaft 21 to which. the crank arms 22 are connected and the shaft 21 is driven by the gear 23 which meshes with a smaller gear 24 secured to the inner end of the shaft 11. Below the crank shaft 21 is mounted the usual bottom shaft 25 which is provided with mechanism, not shown, for operating the picker sticks, and in order to impart a quick movement to the picker actuating mechanism at the time the shuttle is to be picked, the bottom shaft 25 is driven from the crank shaft 21 at a variable speed through the employment of the cooperating elliptical gears 26 and 27. The lay 4 is provided adjacent each end thereof with the usual picker sticks 28, and the lay is shown as having the usual reed 29, the upper end of which is supported by the reed cap 30.

The mechanism so far described forms no essential part of the present invention but constitutes a broad loom of the type frequently employed in the weaving of wide rugs, carpets or pile fabrics of various types. Be-

cause of the size of these looms and the type of fabric usually woven thereupon it has been customary heretofore to manually replace the empty shuttle upon the lay with a full shuttle, but this requires special attention on the part of the loom operator to see that the empty shuttle is replaced with a full one before it is exhausted to such a degree that it will fail to complete the last pick. The present invention therefore contemplates novel mechanism for automatically replacing the empty weaving shuttle with a full shuttle, which will now be described.

At the left hand side of the loom and in front of the position occupied by the lay when moved frontwardly is mounted the shuttle magazine 31 adapted to support several full shuttles 32. The magazine 31 in the construction shown is adjustably secured to a horizontally extending shaft 33 and the inner end of this shaft is supported by the loom structure while the outer end of this shaft is supported by the upright 34 disposed in spaced relation to the end frame 1 of the loom. The magazine is open at its low-er end as will be apparent from Fig. 3 and the stack of shut tles therein are normally supported by the holder 35 which is carried by the rocking arms 36 that are pivotally supported by and extend downwardly from the horizontally ex tending shaft 37. A spring 38 upon the shaft 37 continuously urges the arms 36 in a direction to position the holder 35 beneath the stack of shuttles in the magazine.

The shuttle box at the shuttle replenishing side of the loom, in the construction shown, is provided with a removable front wall 39 which is support-ed by the upwardly extending arms 40 that are adjustably secured to the levers 41 rigidly secured to the rocking shaft 42, and this shaft is supported for rocking movement by the brackets 43 which are secured to and extend upwardly from the lay 4. The arrangement is such that the front wall 39 of the shuttle box is held in the elevated position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 while an empty shuttle 44 is being ejected from the shuttle box and a full shuttle is being substituted therefor. The rocking shaft 42 is provided with the spaced downwardly extending arms 45 each of which has an ejector 46 pivotallv secured to its lower end and positioned to extend frontwardly through an opening in the rear wall of the shuttle box to eject a shuttle from the lay as will be appar ent from Fig. 3.

The construction of the present invention is such that the empty shuttle is replaced by a full shuttle while the loom is at rest and the lay is in its back position as shown in Fig. 3. The means employed to transfer a full shuttle from the magazine 31 to the lay comprises a carrier or transfer lever 47 which is pivotally mounted at 48 near the rock shaft 6 and this lever as will be appar- I ent from Fig. 1 extends frontwardly and upwardly to a position below the magazine 31. The transfer lever 47 is provided at its upper end with a horizontally extending bar 49 which is normally supported by the lever 47 below the lowermost shuttle in the magazine as will be apparent from Fig. 1. The horizontally extending bar 49 has extending rearwardly therefrom the spaced shuttle sup-- the lay and carried frontwardly by the forward rocking movement of the transfer lever 47.

As above stated the stack of shuttles arev normally supported in the magazine'31 by the holder 35 but when shuttle replenishment is called the transfer lever 47 is moved frontwardly slightly from its normal position of Fig. 1. This causes the bar 49 to engage the downwardly extending portion 51 of the holder 35 and move the same frontwardly sufficiently to release the lowermost shuttle as will be apparent from Fig. 3. As the lever 47 is moved rearwardly to convey the shuttle which is now resting upon the blades 50 to the shuttle box, the holder 35 will be moved by the coil spring 38 into its shuttle holding position beneath the magazine.

The loom illustrated may have the usual shipper lever 52 for controlling the operation of the loom and this lever occupies the vertical position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 while the loom is running, and is shifted to its inclined position of Fig. 3 to stop the loom. The shipper lever is rigidly secured to the horizontally extending rocking shaft 53 and is provided with the downwardly extending portion 54. The shipper lever controls the clutch mechanism and brake above mentioned and which are located well back of the front of the loom as will be apparent from Fig. 1. Movement is imparted from the shipper lever 52 to the lever 14 above mentioned by the rearwardly extending connecting link 55 one end of which is pivotally secured to the lower end of the lever 54 while the opposite end of this link is pivotally secured to the downwardly extendingv arm 56 of a bell crank lever pivotally supported at 57. The horizontally extending arm 58 of the bell crank lever is pivotally secured to an upwardly extending rod 59 which is adapted to rock a second bell crank lever pivotally supported at 60 and the upper arm of which leveris connected to the lever 14 by the horizontally extending connecting link 61. The arrangement is such'that when the shipper lever 52 is pulled frontwardly to its vertical position of Fig. 1 it will operatethe connections just described to rock the lever 15 so as to release the brake band 20 and actuate the clutch mechanism to drive the loom, and as soon as the shipper lever is released it will be moved rearwardly by a spring to release the loom driving clutch and apply the brake band 20 to stop the loom with the lay in the back position.

It is important that the replenishment of fillingshall take place before the supply of filling in the running shuttle is completely exhausted and this is accomplished in the embodiment of the invention illustrated by providing a filling feeler 62 disposed at the willbe apparent from Fig. 9. The shuttle illustrated is the type commonly employed in weaving carpets and employs a coreless mass of filling, the arrangement being such that as long as there is av working supply of filling in the shuttle 63 the gate '64 will not yield inwardly under the pressure. of the feeler 62, but when the filling is substantially exhausted in the shuttle the gate will move inwardly under the action ofthe feeler. The feeler 62 is supported for sliding movement frontwardly from the position in which it is shown in F ig. 6 by a pin or the like 65 extending downwardly from a support 66, and the frontwa-rd portion of the feeler 62 is pivotally secured at 67 to a feeler lever 68 that is fastened to the pivoted shaft 69. The arrangement is such that the feeler 62 is normally held in its rearward position in which it is shown in Fig. 6 by the coil spring 70 but will be moved frontwardly by the gate 64 upon each detecting beat of the lay as long as a working supply of filling remains in the shuttle.

The shaft 69 in the construction shown extends across the loom and is provided at its left hand end with a downwardly extending lever 71. The lower end of this lever is connected by a'link 72 to an intermediate portion of a thrust lever 7 3 the upper end of which is pivoted at 74 to a laterally extending arm 75. This arm is secured to the pivot shaft 76 and has the downwardly extending arm 77.

The lower end of the thrust lever 73 is adapted to cooperate with a shoulder or notch 78 formed upon the actuator'79, one end of which is pivotally mounted at 80 and the other end is provided with the finger portion 81 adapted to be actuated by a cam 82 secured to the bottom shaft 25. The arrangement is such that the lever 79 will be raised by the cam 82 upon every other pick of the loom, and if the thrust lever 73 is not shifted by the feeler mechanism at this time the lever 73 will be thrust upwardly by the actuator 79 and this will serve to rock the shaft 76 to stop the loom and initiate shuttle transfer. The shaft 76 it should be noted is provided with a frontwardly extending cam finger 83 adapted to enga e and actuate a rearwardly extending cam 'nger 84: which is rigidly secured to the shaft 53 that supports the shipper lever. It will be understood that when the filling feeler 62 detects a working supply of filling in the shuttle upon a detecting beat the feeler controlled mechanism will be actuated to shift the thrust lever 7'3 from the full line position of Fig. 6 to the dotted line position of this figure so that it will not be thrust upwardly by the rising movement of the actuator 79.

When shuttle replenishment is called and the thrust lever 73 is pushed upwardly in the manner above described the cooperation of the cam fingers 83 and 84: will move the shipper lever to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 to stop the loom, and the down wardly extending lever 77 will be raised to effect rotation of a group of operating cams for operating the shuttle transferring mechanism.

In the embodiment of the invention shown the loom has mounted at the left hand side thereof in close proximity to the floor the cam operating mechanism including the changeshaft 85 that is rotatively supported by the brackets 86 extending upwardly from the base plate 87. The change-shaft 85 is driven independently of the loom so that it continues to rotate as long as the electric motor 7 operates. This is accomplished by provid ing the clutch casing 13 above mentioned with the bevel gear 88 adapted to drive the bevel pinion 89 secured to the upper end of the vertical shaft 90 which shaft is provided at its lower end with a worm 91 that meshes with and drives the worm gear 92 which is rigidly secured to the change-shaft 85. j

The shaft 85 in accordance with the present invention is provided with a ratchet wheel 93 which is keyed or otherwise secured to this shaft and journaled upon the shaft 85 are a group of cams which are normally held against rotation but are adapted to be rotated by the change-shaft 85 when replenishment is called. In the construction shown a pair of discs 94 and 95 are journaled upon the shaft 85 at opposite sides of the ratchet wheel 93, and these discs are rigidly secured in spaced relation to each other by the connecting pins 96. The disc 94 has secured to its outer face a cam 97 and the disc 95 has secured to its outer face a cam 98. The disc 95 is further provided with a relatively long sleeve or hub portion 99 to which is rigidly secured a second but smaller disc 100 and to this disc is secured the cam 101. Each of the cams 97, 98 and 101 is adapted to operate a different lever and the disc adjacent each cam serves as a lateral abutment for guiding the roller provided upon each cam actuated lever.

It will be seen that the group of cams just described are connected as a unit and are journaled upon the cam shaft 85 so that the shaft may rotate without rotating these cams. lVhen shuttle replenishment is to be effected a pawl 102 positioned between the discs 9 1 and 95 and pivotally secured thereto at 103 is engaged with the ratchet wheel 93 to cause the group of cams to rotate with the changeshaft 85. The pawl 102, as will be apparent from Fig. 7 is continuously urged towards the ratchet 93 by the spring 104 one end of which is connected to the pawl and the other end is connected to one of the discs just mentioned. The pawl 102 is normally held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 93 by the hook or latch 105 which is rigidly secured to the rock shaft 106. During the normal operation of the loom the hook 105 holds the pawl in its inoperative position, as will be apparent from Fig. 7, but as soon as the hook 105 is rocked to the dotted line position of this figure so as to release the pawl, the pawl will be moved into engagement with the ratchet wheel 93 by the spring 10 1. This will cause the cams to rotate through one complete revolution, since the construction is such that the hook 105 after releasing the pawl is promptly returned to its full line position to engage the pawl and disengage the same from the ratchet 93 as soon as the cams have completed one revolution.

In the construction shown the rocking movement of the hook 105 is controlled by the lever 77, above mentioned, the outer end of which is provided with a downwardly extending link 107. The lower end of this link is connected to one of a pair of laterally extending levers 108 and 109 which are secured to a rocking shaft 110. The outer end of the lever 109 is connected by an adjustable link 111 to a rocking lever 112 secured to a gear 113 journaled on the stud 113*. The gear 113 meshes with the pinion 114 secured to the rock shaft 106. The arrangement is such that when the outer end of the lever 77 is elevated it will operate the connections just described to rotate the shaft 106 sufficiently to move the hook 105 from the full line to the dotted line position of Fig. 7 to link is connected to the arm 117 of a bell crank end of the arm 128. "described are such that as the cam unit asis provided with a roller 119 adapted to en-' gage the actuating cam 97 The front wall '39 of the shuttle box is'no'rmally held in its lower or weaving position by the spring 120;

The shuttle transfer lever 4-7 is normally held in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 by the spring 121 and operative movement is imparted to this lever by providing the rearwardly extending end thereof with the downwardly extending link 122, the lower end of which is connected to an arm 123 of a second bell crank lever pivoted upon the shaft 106 and the opposite end of this hell crank lever is provided with a roller that engages the operating cam 98.

The cams 97 and 98 are so shaped that when they are rotated by the change-shaft 85 they will operate the rock shaft 42 and the shuttle transfer lever 47 in the manner above described to eject the empty shuttle and transfer a full shuttle from the magazine 31 to the shuttle box. As soon asthis transfer has been completed the loom is automatically started by shifting the shipper lever 52 from its inclined position of Fig. 3 to its upright position of Fig. '1. This is accomplished in the construction shown by the third cam 101 of the unit assembly journaled upon the change-shaft 85, and to this end the connecting rod 55 has secured thereto an upwardly extending arm 124 of the bell crank lever which is pivotally supported at 125 and the laterally extending arm 126 of this lever has connected thereto the downwardly extending link 127, the lower end of which is' connected to an arm 128 of a third bell crank lever journaled upon the shaft 106. The op- 40- cam 101 and this roller is held'against the cam by a spring 130 connected to the outer The connections just sembly upon the shaft 85 completes its rotation through one revolution a projection upon the cam 101 will operate the connections last .described to move the shipper lever 52 to the M)" loom running position.

The transfer lever 47 is preferably formed of an upper and a lower section which'are pivotally connected to each other at .1-7 so that the lower section may swing rearwardly relative to the upper-section to prevent breakage of parts under abnormal conditions, the two sections being normally held in the straight position in which they are shown by .the pressure of the spring 47 This con- 'struction permits movement of the lower section relative to the upper section without damage in the event a shuttle box does not open or the exhausted shuttle is not properly ejected.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the filling feeler 62 feels the condition of the filling in the shuttle upon every other beat of the lay, and if a working supply of filling is detected the feeler mechanism rocks the thrust lever 73 clear of the actuating notch 7 8 to prevent it from being thrust upwardly by the actuator 79. When the supply of filling in the shuttle becomes exhausted to such.

an extent that it will not move the feeler 62 frontwardly then the thrust lever 73 will not be moved out of the path of the actuator 79 and as a result will be moved in the direction of its length to stop the loomwith the lay in the back position. Atthe same time the rising movement of the lever 77 shifts the hook 105 to release the pawl 102 to engage the continuously rotating ratchet wheel 93, to rotate the cams that operate the transfer mechanism. As soon as the shuttle replenishment is effected the cam 101 actuates the shipper lever to start the loom again.

While the mechanism just described automatically takes care of shuttle replenishment as the filling approaches exhaustion, it is important to stop the loom if the filling breaks, and this is accomplished in the construction shown through the employment of the detector finger 131 which is adjustably secured to the lever 132 pivoted at 133 to the upper end of the rocking lever 134 which lever is pivotally supported at 135. The rearwardly'extending portion of the detector finger 131 lies over a clearance notch or slot formed in the lay and this finger is normally held elevated by the counterbalancing action of the heavier forward end of the lever 132. The arrangement is such that the pressure ofthe intact filling upon the downwardly inclined portion of the finger 131 as the lay beats up forces the finger downwardly within the clearance slot of the lay. The. upper end of the lever 134 is rocked frontwardly on every detecting beat while the lay is in the forward position. This is effected by the cam 136 upon the bottom shaft 25 and positioned to actuate a roller 137 secured to the downwardly the knock-off lever 1410 and not actuate the same. If, however, the filling is broken at this time the detector finger 131 will not be depressed, with the result that the forward end of the lever 132 will engage the knock-01f lever and actuate the same to shift the shipper lever to stop the loom.

It is desirable to trim the filling from both the spent and full shuttles after replenishment, but this is readily accomplished by providing filling trimming mechanism at the replenishing side of the loom.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change-shaft driven independently of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted shuttle with a full shuttle including cam means rotatably mounted on said shaft and adapted to be rotated upon call for shuttle transfer, a filling feeler, a ratchet Wheel I0- tated by the change-shaft, a pawl mounted upon said cam means to rotate the latter from said shaft, a pawl holder movable into and out of the path of the pawl and adapted normally a to hold the pawl away from the ratchet wheel,

and means controlled by the filling feeler for actuating the pawl holder to cause the pawl engage the ratchet and effect shuttle trans- 2. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change-shaft driven independently of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted shuttle with a full shuttle including a group of cams connected as a unit and journaled on said shaft to operate the shuttle transfer mechanism, a driving connection between said shaft and group of cams to rotate the cams upon call for replenishment including a ratchet wheel rigidly secured to'the change shaft and a pawl pivoted to the group of cams, a filling feeler, and means for controlling the engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel from the filling feeler to rotate the cams only when shuttle replenishment is called.

3. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change-shaft driven independently of the loom and having ;a ratchet secured thereto, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted shuttle with a full shuttle, including a pair of connected discs journaled upon said shaft at the opposite sides of the ratchet and provided with cams secured to the disc to operate as a unit, a pawl pivotally mounted between the discs and provided With means for continuously urging it toward the ratchet, filling feeler mechanism, and means controlled thereby for normally holding the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet and adapted to effect its engagement with the ratchet to 1'0- tate the cams upon call for replenishment.

4. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, an actuator transfer, a filling feeler adapted to be moved frontwardly upon a detecting beat by a working supply of filling in the shuttle, and means operable by said feeler to prevent the thrust lever from being shifted by the actuator when a working supply of filling is present in the shuttle and to cause the actuator to shift said lever to effect shuttle replenishment when the filling in the shuttle is substantially exhausted.

5. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, an actuator adapted to be periodically shifted by a going part of the loom, a shaft supported for rocking movement, a thrust lever connected to said shaft and adapted to be shifted by the actuator in the direction of its length upon call for shuttle replenishment to turn said shaft, means operable by the rotation of said shaft to stop the loom and effect shuttle transfer, including shuttle transfer mechanism, a change-shaft driven independently of the loom and cams rotated thereby to operate the shuttle transfer mechanism, a filling feeler adapted to be moved frontwardly upon a detecting beat by a working supply of filling on the shuttle, and means operable by said feeler to prevent the thrust lever from being shifted by the actuator when a working supply of filling is present in the shuttle and to cause the actuator to shift said lever to effect replenishment When the filling in the shuttle is substantially exhausted.

6. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change shaft driven independently of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted weaving shuttle with a full shuttle, includ ing a cam operating sleeve loosely journaled on said shaft and provided with cams for operating the shuttle transfer mechanism, a ratchet wheel mounted on the change shaft to rotate therewith, a pawl pivotally mounted upon the sleeve for movement inwardly into engagement with the ratchet wheel to rotate the sleeve and provided with a pro jecting outer end, a spring for engaging the pawl with the ratchet wheel, and a hook engageable with said end for holding the pawl out of engagement withthe ratchet wheel and the sleeve from rotating and adapted to release the pawl upon call for filling replenishment.

7. In ,an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change shaft driven independently of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted weaving shuttle with a full shuttle, including aicam operating sleeve loosely journaled on said shaft and provided With cams for operating the shuttle transfer mechanism, a ratchet wheel mountedon the change shaft to rotate therewith, a pawl pivotally mounted upon the sleeve for movement inwardly into engagement with the ratchet wheel to rotate the sleeve, a spring for engaging the pawl with the ratchet wheel, and a hook engageable with the pawl to hold it out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and adapted to release the pawl upon call for filling replenishment.

8. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change shaft driven independently of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted weaving shuttle with a full shuttle, including a ratchet wheel mounted on the change shaft to rotate therewith, a cam operating sleeve loosely journaled on said shaft and provided with cams for operating the shuttle transfer mechanism, a pair of disks secured to said sleeve and journaled upon the change shaft upon the opposite sides of the ratchet wheel and rigidly secured toeach other so as to form a clearance space for the ratchet wheel therebetween, a pawl pivotally secured to the disks for swinging movement therebetween, a spring for engaging the pawl with the ratchet wheel, and means for normally holding the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and adapted to release the pawl upon call for filling replenishment.

9. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, a change shaft driven continuously so that it is not affected by the starting and stopping of the loom, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted weaving shuttle with a full shuttle including a cam operating sleeve loosely journaled on said shaft and provided with cams for operating the shuttle transfer mechanism, a ratchet wheel mounted on the change shaft to rotate therewith, a pawl engageable with the ratchet wheel to rotate the sleeve, and means for normally holding the pawl inactive but operable upon call for filling replenishment to effect engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel to rotate said sleeve.

10. In an automatic shuttle replenishing loom, in combination, a lay, replenishing mechanism for replacing the exhausted weaving shuttle with a full shuttle, including shuttle transfer mechanism, rotating cams for operating said mechanism, a change shaft for rotating the cams, a driving connection between said shaft and cams, a latch for controlling said driving connection, a pivoted lever for shifting the latch upon call for filling replenishment, an actuator adapted to be periodically shifted by a going part of the loom, a thrust lever pivotally secured to the latch controlling lever and arranged to be shifted in the direction of its length by the actuator to operate the pivoted lever, a filling feeler operable to shift the thrust lever out of the path of the actuator when a working supply of filling is present in the shuttle and to cause the actuator to shift the thrust lever to effect replenishment when filling in the shuttle is substantially exhausted.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification.

EDWIN W. STONE. I FRANK V. GRENNOR. 

